What Makes a Martial Artist Good

[KarateGeorge]

I think another trait that makes a good martial artist is tenacity. The determination and courage to keep going no matter how difficult things may get is something that will really help in overcoming many weaknesses one may have.

[bushido_man96]

I do agree that strength training can be a boon to any physical endeavor.

Kinda goes against the idea of many who think martial arts was created for weaker persons against stronger ones.

I'm not sure when or how that actually got propogated, but I think it is one of the biggest misrepresentations that any instructor could attempt to pass onto a student. Size and strength are both factors to be considered in any encounter. No, they are NOT the only ones to consider, or necessarily the most important ones, but they are factors to be considered.

[RichardZ]

You'd be surprised how many think this way.

However, using advocatus diaboli, many of smaller persons have defeated larger ones in some fashion.

However, again using advocatus diaboli, why is there equal wieght classes in many competitons?

[bushido_man96]

There are some that win, and some that lose. We can point in both directions. But for an instructor to tell students that size won't ever matter, is not a smart way of teaching, in my opinion.

[Jay]

In my opinion if you are smaller, you have to train harder.

Especially when it comes to grappling strength is an important factor. When you are young and you play fight a lot the bigger kid usually always wins.

Strength is a very necessary attribute because a stronger athlete is usually faster, more powerful and also has more endurance.

[RichardZ]

There are some that win, and some that lose. We can point in both directions. But for an instructor to tell students that size won't ever matter, is not a smart way of teaching, in my opinion.

One would think so, but many females and small framed males, tend to train to get a upper edge.

Does this mean because these people are "smaller", that they do not stand a chance against a larger person?

[bushido_man96]

There are some that win, and some that lose. We can point in both directions. But for an instructor to tell students that size won't ever matter, is not a smart way of teaching, in my opinion.

One would think so, but many females and small framed males, tend to train to get a upper edge.

Does this mean because these people are "smaller", that they do not stand a chance against a larger person?

I never said that. I simply stated that size and strength are both important attributes to take into account in any encounter.

[ShoriKid]

In essence though a martial artists ability comes not from the techniques of the style but his ability to add his own attributes to the technique to make it better. Thus in my opinion a martial artist can gain more from the development of attributes than from the accumulation of techniques.

The quality and abilities of a person training will always be expressed through their techniques and training. At times the individual will over ride the style.

There are certain attributes that are absolutely key to the efficiency of a martial artist.

Here is a short list of what I think is important.

My number one key attribute that a martial artist must have is perceptual speed. If you know what the opponent is going to do then you have already won the battle. Now this is very hard to achieve. You must be able to pick up on all the subtle movements of the opponent.

It comes through hard practice and lots of time and careful training. I agree that perceptual speed is more important than most other attributes. Without it you won't be pulling the trigger on beautifully polished techniques full of physical speed and power.

My second attribute is mechanical speed. The martial artist must have enough speed to hit the opponent when he has recognized his intentions if he does not he is liable to get hit.

I would say this is true. However, the greater your advantage in perceptual speed, the more you can lose in mechanical speed and still function at a high level.

Distance and timing are also very important you must be able to judge your distance and timing so that a hit is possible.

Positional awareness, maia(I think that's the spelling), is what I see here. If you can control the distance, you can control the fight. A great martial artist can communicate how to master this skill to others as well.

A limited selection of weapons is also important, training should consist of a few techniques done to a very high standard through repetition. These techniques should have enough variations so that all possible angles and scenarios can be covered. More weapons= more choices= slower reaction time.

Sharp weapons are good weapons. Weapons that are familar you can use best. But, when you need a knife and all you have is a hammer, you've got trouble. A great martial artist will have certain techniques that they have broken down, rebuilt and mastered. The true greats aren't specialist though. They are familar with a wide range of techniques and can apply them properly. They will still have favorites that they are best with. But their real gift is to be able to break down a technique, even one they aren't a master of, and see it's strengths and weaknesses and then improve on them.

Power is another attribute than one must develop. This is why strength training is so important more strength=more power potentially.

Amen. Too many martial artist are stuck with the idea that strength training means being muscle bound and slow. No. People who train for serious combat know that strength is something you need to survive. Strong muscles trained properly give explosive power and speed. Yes, speed. Great martial artists understand that they have to develope their bodies to support the rest of their training.

You must also know all styles weaknesses and strengths including your own. Thus should you have to fight or spar with them then you will know what tactics to use against their preferred attacks.

I don't think you can really do this. You can learn enough to deal wiith the generalities of over-arching styles. Great martial artist though should be able to "read" what their opponent is going have as a basic tactic/strategy. They should be able to teach this skill to others.

I think a great martial artist needs to be able to convey his skills to others. Not that they have to be teachers. But, they should be able to break down what they are doing and can do enough to communicate what they do and why. That requires they fully understand and analize what they are doing. The analitical mind, the willingness to take a hard look at what they are doing and why it works or doesn't is what makes a great martial artist.

[ShoriKid]

One would think so, but many females and small framed males, tend to train to get a upper edge.

Does this mean because these people are "smaller", that they do not stand a chance against a larger person?

I'm a smaller man, 160-170lbs when trimmed up. Not tiny, but below average in height and slightly in weight. I train hard in my technique to tweek all of the power I can out of them. But, I'm aware of the advantages of physical training for strength. It is the reason Hojo Undo exists.

Just because someone has size and strength advantages doesn't mean they will have inferior skill. Not telling students that strength and size matters, saying it is not important, is a great dis-service to one's students. It's the same as teaching that single techniques are all you ever need to win a fight.

[Throwdown0850]

I was thinking the other day about how great martial artists get to be so good. I have always been of the opinion that the martial artist is more important than the style or sect from which they come.

Saying that the martial artist is more important than the style, is like saying that the brain is the most important part of the body. There is a old humor tale of "the most important part of the body". Where certain body parts claim which is the most important part.

In short, it is a matter of importance as it is a matter of harmony and/or unity with the artists and the art.

There are of course some superior tactics and strategy's that can be employed but these can generally be used in every martial art. There are also better ways of striking in some martial arts than others, when you consider their application to sparring situations, and the same with some others when you consider self defense applications. Of course all will work with the correct timing and distance but there are better ways. For instance some styles techniques will be less telegraphic than others some will have more power due to the way it is delivered.

Not sure what you are stating here. The mechanics of the body is the same for each individual. In the example of power is not only from some type og training, but also from the individual. Rocky Marciano, Mike Tyson, and Bruce Lee comes to mind

In essence though a martial artists ability comes not from the techniques of the style but his ability to add his own attributes to the technique to make it better. Thus in my opinion a martial artist can gain more from the development of attributes than from the accumulation of techniques.

It has to come first from a style, as this is the foundation, the fire to heat the metal, (the martial artist), along with other things like water and hammering (other factors-aka methods). in other owrds, devlopmet of attributes, or the metal, cannot form by itself without the aid of forging

There are certain attributes that are absolutely key to the efficiency of a martial artist.

As per the above of metallergy

My number one key attribute that a martial artist must have is perceptual speed. If you know what the opponent is going to do then you have already won the battle. Now this is very hard to achieve. You must be able to pick up on all the subtle movements of the opponent.

Perceptual speed is not probable as one will first need to have a mental recognition of how he is in said situation, or the prevention of.

My second attribute is mechanical speed. The martial artist must have enough speed to hit the opponent when he has recognized his intentions if he does not he is liable to get hit.

Speed is not key, as many who have speed, lack focus and power from being too fast.

Distance and timing are also very important you must be able to judge your distance and timing so that a hit is possible.

Agreed

A limited selection of weapons is also important, training should consist of a few techniques done to a very high standard through repetition. These techniques should have enough variations so that all possible angles and scenarios can be covered. More weapons= more choices= slower reaction time.

The application of repetition is neccesary, but this depends on the type of iroutines, if beneficial.

Power is another attribute than one must develop. This is why strength training is so important more strength=more power potentially.

Strength training isnt the only factor or method to develop power.

You must also know all styles weaknesses and strengths including your own. Thus should you have to fight or spar with them then you will know what tactics to use against their preferred attacks.

not so. One can understand many strengths and weaknesses, but the ultimate test is not from these, but upon the different types of opponents to which one may never have time to know.

Thus what are you opinions on what makes a martial artist good and what attributed do you think they should have and how to develop them?

Im going to have to agree with Jay. You do have some good points but on the strength training quote. the only way to get more power is by getting stronger. you can be the fastest guy in the world and can only hit so hard. so yes strength does equal more power and imo besides technique its the only way to develop it.